Can't take any more!

[PMC]

Moto - I can relate to this, my old employer did nothing to support me but kept piling on the workload, expecting me to work a 60 hour week and NOT mess up under any circumstances.  When the inevitible happened I was hauled over the coals.

The reason your team is shrinking is to save someone money, pure and simple.  If your manager can turn round to the MD and say "I've reduced costs and maintained the output" then he/she will follow that up with a "how about a juicy bonus for me?" request.  

As regards the company taking over, they have an obligation under Transfer of Undertakings legislation to continue your employment under the same terms and conditions as you were originally engaged to take on.  Any change to these terms MUST be subject to due consultation process.

My advice to you is to contact your local citizen's advice bureau and make enquires about employment tribunals.  The very threat of this is usually enough to snap any employer into line.

Don't what ever you do give in or back down.  Good luck

[PMC]

motorollin wrote:

Unfortunately I think they have met the TUPE requirements as my pay and benefits package has remained unchanged.

moto

Tupe doesn't just mean the pay and benefits package, it also refers to the working conditions also and the law has recently been changed to further workers rights.  

Have a quick flick through the regs (Warning, 41 page PDF!)

http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file20761.pdf

I wouldn't do anything silly with the database as it'll make you look bad if anything goes toes up.  Your contract of employment may by default contain a clause defaulting ownership of any intellectual property to your employer.  

If you manager stands to be made redundant then chances are he/she has accepted their fate and won't fight.  If they've made a deal behind the scenes to be moved to other projects then you've got a problem as part of their remit may well to be to ease the exit of the staff they don't want.  

If you resign, you're excluding yourself from any redundancy offer so try not to lose your rag.  Watch your back in case they try and pull a phoney disciplinary (that one happened to me once too), but to be brutal, the longer you hang on the more they have to pay to get rid of you.